A centralized Software Defined Networking (SDN) management plane offers an opportunity to improve current network management practices with automated and optimized management processes. Centralized management is also a key pillar in enabling on-demand usage-based services, which is the direction network deployments are moving towards. One aspect of the SDN management plane includes network applications. Conventionally, the approach for dispatching network apps is for the user to call on them manually or to schedule them periodically. Typically, each action is scheduled separately and independent of other actions. Analytics are not used except to guide the network operator's intuition. When optimization solutions are provided to the user, it is often unclear when they should be run, or what their expected benefit is. The conventional approach suffers from not indicating to the operator when to run each network action or app. Also, they are missing the fact that multiple solutions should be considered jointly for the optimum set of actions. The operator is expected to select the action to execute on the network, based on observations and intuition. However, as this invention shows it is possible to select and schedule a set of actions that ensure that the network is running smoothly and satisfies its SLAs.
SDN, Virtual Network Functionality (VNF), and similar innovative technologies enable the building of networks that are flexible, programmable, and have highly automated operations. Such networks have both challenges and opportunities. For example, such networks support on-demand services having dynamic connections with varied durations and bandwidth requirements that may be scheduled in advance or that may arrive spontaneously. Ongoing connection arrivals and releases lead to sub-optimal resource use over time: a connection that used resources optimally when established may no longer be optimally routed due to resources freed by subsequent connection releases. Packet networks exhibit dynamically varying loads and are often designed to overbook installed capacity and poorly chosen static overbooking factors can lead to poor network utilization (higher cost) or a degraded user experience (high packet loss). Service requests may exhibit temporary predictable shifts in the community of interest (probability a connection belongs to a given A−>Z pair) or volume induced by, for example, sporting or entertainment events, promotions, elections, or similar events. Service requests may exhibit temporary unpredictable shifts in the community of interest or volume induced by, for example, natural disasters, or terrorist attacks. Service requests may exhibit permanent (often predictable) shifts in community of interest or volume induced by, for example, opening a large office complex
The combined effect of the above factors creates a mismatch between traffic demand and the network resources provided causing poorer network utilization, lost revenue, customer dissatisfaction, and higher network cost. Such networks will have ever-increasing functionality (e.g., network apps) that allows their response to traffic demand to be tailored to meet the needs of network resilience, protection, and shifting traffic patterns. Methods for effectively managing this functionality are either non-existent or inadequate. The programmability of and functional richness of such networks provides an opportunity for intelligent and automated resource management: without this automation resource management will be complex, highly manual, error-prone, and expensive.